Finally People Can Shut Up About a Recess Appointment for Jeff Sessions

When dealing with President Trump it is wise never to rule out any action. One such action was the pervasive rumor of a couple of weeks ago that Trump was going to a) fire Jeff Sessions and replace him using a recess appointment or b) fire him and install a new acting AG, under the provisions of the Vacancies Act. Both options seemed unlikely as a recess appointment would virtually burn any bridges the administration has with the Senate. For the Vacancies Act to work he’d have to convince Sessions to resign (or commit seppuku) and then he’d have to convince another Senate approved official to take the job for a maximum of 210 days. This other official would then be a political pariah.

Now we can stop the speculation.

The Senate blocked President Trump from being able to make recess appointments on Thursday as lawmakers leave Washington for their summer break.